The Thoughts and Writing of Robert Wherry

2017 Spring May 20 Saturday

Could really feel the cool air this morning. Pace was 9 seconds below my goal pace. Soon I will move it up 15 or 30 seconds. Maybe more it up 30 seconds so it is a real achievement if I reach it.

Air was cool this morning, probably due to the moisture. Heavy (but steady) rain last night. If it keeps up like this we won’t have to worry about watering the lawn!

Of course, soon it will stop raining and get hot.

Working on a speech for Toastmasters on algorithms concerning “when to stop” and “organization”

I think algorithms are interesting, although I found they are hardly new. The word itself dates back to the 9th century and the principles date back over 4,000 years. They mention a recipe is a algorithm.

Actually I have been a member of Toastmasters for 29 years this year, which is hard to believe. It has been beneficial to say the least. I actually had about a 14 year “break” while I was in Memphis. I just never found a convenient club that fit my schedule.

Looking a the “Blinklist” and “Great Courses”, and considering my experience in Toastmasters, I think here is a period of your life when “self improvement” books, courses etc. become important in your life. It seems like it is roughly in the mid-thirties/early forties age group and from there it goes down as we age.

Personally, I probably lost interest in most self-improvement books etc. maybe ten years ago Not that I”m not interested in self-improvement, I think my scope has changed a lot.

I think part of it is like the management/budgeting “fads” I went through during my City career. Much of it is he same thing just disguised in new clothes.

I don’t really mean for that to be a criticism, I really think anything that will help is worth it and what is “old information” to me was once “new information” I could use and found valuable and is “new information to someone else that they can use.

In a way, it may just be a cycle. We like learning about “new” procedures that may help us do a better job and that is a positive factor.

Looking back, I can probably count on one hand, the really “new” procedures I learned, not that all of it didn’t help me.

Probably one of the most impactful presentations I ever heard was Beck Weathers (“Left for Dead) and his message of the dangers of obsession. In his case it was obsession with mountain climbing and he literally was on Mount Everest and referred to as “that dead man in the tent” when he came alive and was obviously rescued.
While I have never had the slightest impulse or desire to climb mountains, it ignited an interest (that I still have) in reading about mountain climbing and watching the occasional documentary on it.

A new weekend to enjoy. Hopefully the weather will improve. Next weekend is Memorial Day. Difficult to believe it will soon be Memorial Day, 2017! Then the Summer will move into hyper time and soon it will be Labor Day.